Is « copain » masculine or feminine?
« copain » is masculine. You say le copain.
In English, « copain » means friend, buddy; boyfriend.
Article forms
| With the definite article | le copain |
| With the indefinite article | un copain |
| With the partitive article | du copain |
Plural
The plural is copains (les copains). A noun keeps its gender in the plural; only the article stops showing it.
Why the gender
copain ends in
-in. Nouns ending in
-in are usually masculine,
so copain follows the pattern.
The full rules by ending cover every common
suffix.
In a sentence
-
Tom est un copain à moi.
Tom is a buddy of mine. -
J'ai un copain qui m'aime.
I have a friend who loves me. -
Elle s'est trouvé un copain.
She's found herself a boyfriend.
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. Each links to its source sentence.
Related words
Other common nouns that end the same way:
Common questions
Is « copain » masculine or feminine?
« copain » is masculine. You say le copain.
Is it « la copain » or « le copain »?
It is « le copain ». « la copain » is incorrect.
Check another word, or read the complete guide to French noun gender.